Winemaker Notes
The 2015 Odette Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District seduces with augmented notes of sweet black raspberries, black cherries and black currants accompanied by natural violets, shaved graphite and dried cloves. Impenetrable purple in color, lavish and full-bodied, this wine is decadent and mouth coating, with rich layers of dark fruits that canvas the palate leading into a nearly never-ending finish.
Blend: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, and the rest 3% Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is similar to the reserve release, just slightly more classic in style and less exuberant. There’s also 4,000 cases of this beauty available and as Napa Valley Cabernet goes, it’s a smoking value. Offering the classic, concentrated, rich 2015 profile as well as loads of plum, currants, spice-box, chocolate, and hints of cedar pencil, this full-bodied beauty has sweet tannin, great intensity, a multi-dimensional texture, and a terrific finish. Drink it anytime over the coming 15-20 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Very deep purple-black colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate bursts forth from the glass with opulent crème de cassis, baked cherries and mocha notes with touches of charcuterie, licorice, sandalwood and forest floor. Big, rich and full-on sexy in the mouth, it delivers loads of black fruit preserves, exotic spice and savory layers. Framed by soft, very fine-grained tannins, it finishes with lingering anise and chocolate-covered cherries notions. Yum!
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Wine Spectator
Beautifully crafted, rich and polished, with a dense core of dark berry, mocha, cedar, crushed rock and licorice flavors, combining power and finesse in an impressive showing. Drink now through 2034.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Legend has it that quick and nimble stags would escape the indigenous hunters of southern Napa Valley through the landmark palisades that sit just northeast of the current city of Napa. As a result, the area was given the name, Stags Leap. While its grape-growing history dates back to the mid-1800s, winemaking didn’t really take off until the mid-1970s after a small but pivotal blind tasting called the Judgement of Paris.
When a 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon won first place against its high-profile Bordeaux contenders, like Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Haut-Brion, international attention to the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley escalated rapidly.
The vineyards in this one-of-a-kind wine growing region receive hot afternoon air reflecting off of its eastern palisade formation. In combination with the cool evening breezes from the San Pablo Bay just south, this becomes an optimal environment for grape growing. While many varieties could thrive here, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate with virtually no others, save for a spot or two of Syrah.
Stags Leap soils—eroded volcanic and old river sediments—encourage well established root systems and result in complex, terroir-driven wines. Stags Leap District reds have a distinct sour cherry and black berry character with baking spice and dried earth aromas, and supple tannins.